Kara O’Connell & Demian Lumsden

It was December 13th, a day after my due date, and at about 11pm I started to have small contractions. Of course, with this being my first birth, I thought I was going into labor and called Jan right away. She told me to try and get some sleep. I tried to go back to sleep but kept waking up every 8-10-5-20 minutes. At about 11am on December 14th my contractions just stopped. I called Jan again and she told me that it was normal and to just relax. She also told me that the baby could decide to be born next week. At this point I was a little disappointed, I was already late on my due date, and I wanted to have the baby! So we rented some movies and relaxed. At about 7:30pm I decided to take a bath. As I’m laying in my bath reading, “What to Expect When Your Expecting”, I felt a little gush of water come out of me. I wasn’t sure if I accidentally peed so I didn’t really think much of it until I saw my mucus plug in the water. As I called my mother-in-law in bathroom to reassure I was seeing things correctly, we knew it was time. As I stood up out of the bathtub my water broke. I called Jan and told her what was happening. Again, she told me to try and rest. I laid down for maybe an hour but my contractions we coming on fast. I was having them 4-5 minutes apart lasting a minute so we called Jan and told her we were going to the hospital. When we got to Park Ridge at 9pm and I could barely walk. My contractions were so strong I knew she was coming fast. Jan got there maybe 5 minutes after we arrived. She checked me and I was already 8 centimeters dilated. The nurses filled the tub and Demian and I got in. It was so nice and warm.

It helped so much with my contractions. It’s now about 12:00am and I am in severe labor land. I was telling everyone that I could not do it and that I needed something for the pain. Jan informed me that I was almost ready to push the baby out and reassured me that I could do it. Demian was massaging my back and gave me words of confidence. At this point, I surrendered to the pain, I started pushing. When I began pushing I forgot about how painful it was before. I knew that I had progressed and she was coming, all I had to do was push. At 1:11am Mahala Ember Lumsden was born. As she laid upon my chest in the warm water, I felt a love so strong and a feeling of power. I feel that birth is a completion of being a woman. It is our strength and love that make us strong. With the support of my family and Jan’s guidance my birth went exactly the way is was meant to be. Thank you New Dawn for being a part of this memorable moment in our lives!

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